


Hold Me Close

by seaaweedbrain



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Happy Foxes (All For The Game), M/M, Post-Canon, Protective Andrew Minyard, Soft Andrew Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:35:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23792458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaaweedbrain/pseuds/seaaweedbrain
Summary: The foxes discover the intricacies of Neil and Andrew’s relationship (or rather, that they are in one.)OrThe foxes watch The Lion King. That's it. That's the whole fic.
Relationships: Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 23
Kudos: 709
Collections: ANDREIL





	Hold Me Close

Nicky was trying to hold back tears.

He had always considered himself to be a strong person - he'd had to be, in order to look after the twins and maintain a healthy long-distance relationship. But some things just got to him. Puppies. Sad movies. And most notably, Neil Josten’s life history.

“It's just so _sad_ ,” he whimpered.

“It's really not that big of a deal,” Neil said. The shocked expressions on the foxes’ faces argued otherwise. Neil noticed that even Andrew, despite maintaining his usual stoic stance, had a slight furrow in his brow. Neil shifted awkwardly on the sofa.

“ _Not that big of a deal_?” Nicky shrieked. “It's _The Lion King_! You've never seen _The Lion King_. I- I might have to sit down.”

He collapsed on the floor in front of Kevin, who promptly kicked him in response.

“Move,” he mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

“This ends tonight,” Allison announced. She scrambled over the blankets they'd laid on the floor and reached for the remote. “You're going to watch this, Neil, and you're going to love it. Or hate it. Or - okay, you're going to have mixed feelings but still, it's really good.”

Neil shrugged. He didn’t really get why everyone was freaking out over some movie, but he figured it would be worth a shot to find out. Matt tossed a box of tissues onto the sofa and grinned.

“Get ready for tears, buddy.”

“Whatever you say,” Neil replied, sinking further into the sofa. In his peripheral vision, he caught Andrew rolling his eyes.

Dan flicked off the lights and shushed everyone. Allison clicked PLAY.

Andrew stretched his arm across the back of the sofa. Without looking away from the screen, Neil passed him a bag of licorice. After about ten minutes, Neil reached into the bag and came up empty-handed.

“You're kidding,” he said.

“I'm cold,” Andrew corrected. He jutted his chin out in the direction of the pile of blankets that Allison had brought from her room.

“And you have _legs_ ,” Neil pointed out, but went to retrieve a blanket anyway. He chucked it in Andrew’s direction. The blonde draped the faux fur around his shoulders and then looked at Neil expectantly.

"What?"

Andrew tilted his head slightly to the right and waited. It took Neil all of five seconds to understand what he meant.

Soundlessly, he climbed into his boyfriend's lap and tapped the sides of Andrew’s ribcage in question. The goalkeeper nodded, and Neil draped his arms around his middle, making sure that he wasn't holding on too tightly. Andrew cocooned them in the blanket and gently pushed Neil’s head onto his shoulder, mumbling a “yes, junkie” before he could ask.

Neil tilted his head slightly so that he could see the television screen, but was far more interested in the feel of Andrew’s heartbeat fluttering against his chest.

“Your heart’s going really fast,” Neil noted.

Andrew said nothing.

“Do you want me to get-”

Andrew’s hand was firm on Neil’s back, pushing him back down when he'd started to sit up. He rested his chin on Neil’s shoulder.

“No.”

Okay, then.

Neil remained curled up in Andrew’s lap for the remainder of the movie, and by the time the final scene rolled around, he was fast asleep, breathing heavily into Andrew’s chest.

Andrew made no move to wake him - this was the first time he'd fallen asleep without his meds since Baltimore. Instead, he tugged the blanket from behind his shoulders and wrapped it around Neil’s body, covering the areas the blanket’s warmth hadn't quite reached when it was around them both, and gently kissed the top of his head.

“That's fucking adorable,” Allison gushed.

He flicked his gaze from Neil’s sleeping form to the floor full of foxes that were staring at him in awe. In the weeks succeeding their trip to Baltimore, the team had started clueing in on the fact that Neil and Andrew’s relationship may be more than a fling. Seeing Andrew’s surprising gentleness toward Neil was all the confirmation that they needed.

The group waited silently for Andrew’s response. The goalie wrapped his arms protectively around Neil’s middle and raised a brow, daring them to comment.

Nicky began to sob into Kevin’s shoulder. Looking back, he wasn't sure whether it was Mufasa’s death, seeing his cousin finally find happiness or just the sheer amount of cracker dust he'd consumed earlier that day alone, but once he started, he couldn't stop.

“Forget _The Lion King,_ ” he cried. “This is so much better.”

Kevin’s face flooded with horror.

“Alright, I'm out,” he muttered, pushing a dejected Nicky off of him. ( _But Kevin_ , Nicky would later complain when Kevin lectured him on personal space, _it was about the moment!_ ) “I'm going to bed.”

“Me too,” Dan agreed. “I'd rather not be around when Andrew performs mass homicide.”

The group flooded with a chorus of “me neither” and a “goodnight, Andrew” from Renee. Only Nicky hung around.

Andrew shot his cousin a glare in warning, but didn't dare get up, knowing the movement would cause the auburn haired junkie to stir.

Nicky stood up and awkwardly shoved his hands into his back pockets.

“It's… it's not a fling, is it?” 

Andrew knew that he didn't have to answer. He could just stare at him blankly, or look in the direction of his knives, and Nicky would back off.

“No,” he said, instead. He watched the flutter of Neil’s eyes beneath their lids, and stared at the soft quiver his lip gave when in sleep. He felt the unfamiliar (but not unwelcome) lurch his heart gave when he looked at Neil returning. “It's not.”


End file.
